U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,650 discloses terminating a flat power cable having one (or two side-by-side) flat conductors with a pair of terminals crimped onto a slotted end thereof by penetrating the insulation covering the cable's conductor and also shearing through the conductor (or conductors) at a plurality of locations. The cable is of the type entering commercial use for transmitting electrical power of for example between 50 and 100 amperes nominal; the single conductor flat cable includes a flat conductor one inch wide and about 0.020 inches thick with an extruded insulated coating of about 0.004 to 0.008 inches thick over each surface with the cable having a total thickness of up to about 0.034 inches. Such terminals can also be used to terminate flat cable having two spaced flat conductors each 0.45 inches wide separated by a narrow median of dielectric material, instead of the cable having a single conductor. Each terminal has a pair of opposed plate sections transversely across each of which are termination regions containing an array of shearing wave shapes alternating with relief recesses, so that when the pair of plate sections disposed against major surfaces of the flat cable at an end thereof are pressed together and against the cable therebetween, the arrays of shearing wave shapes cooperate to shear the conductor of the flat cable into a plurality of strips which remain integral with the cable. The wave shapes also deflect the newly sheared conductor strips into the opposing relief recesses so that newly sheared conductor edges are moved adjacent electrical engagement surfaces defined by the vertical side edges of the adjacent shearing wave shapes forming electrical connections of the adapter terminals with the flat cable conductors.
The pair of plate sections of each terminal both extend forwardly from a rearward cable-receiving terminal end where they coextend forwardly at a slight angle from a pair of bight sections spaced laterally apart defining a cable-receiving slot therebetween. Tab-shaped portions are blanked on the end section of the cable and are inserted through the cable-receiving slots of the terminals to be disposed between upper and lower plate sections of each terminal. The upper and lower plate sections of each pair are pressed together, being rotated about the bight sections which act as integral hinges, so that the shearing wave shapes shear and deflect strips of the conductor (or conductors) of the cable forming a termination of the terminals to the cable.
The method of terminating is preferably as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,204, and preferably the terminals are two-part assemblies of adapter members including the cable-adjacent terminal portions and the contact sections, and low resistance copper members fastened to the outwardly facing surface of each of the adapter members at their respective terminating regions. The inserts have terminal-facing surfaces conforming closely to the shape of the outer surface of the terminating region, with alternating wave shapes and apertures disposed outwardly of and along the adapter member's shearing wave shapes and relief recesses. Upon termination the wave joints are within the insert apertures, and the sheared edges of the adjacent conductor strips and of the terminal wave shapes which formed the sheared strips are adjacent to side walls of the copper insert apertures. A staking process is disclosed in which the sheared conductor strips and insert portions between the sheared strips are deformed against each other with the insert portions simultaneously being deformed against the adapter member's wave shape edges coplanar with the strip edges, forming gas-tight, heat and vibration resistant electrical connections with the cable conductor and with the terminal, so that the inserts are electrically in series at a plurality of locations between the conductor and the adapter.
A contact section is integrally included on the adapter member of such terminal assemblies enabling separable mating with corresponding contact means of an electrical connector and can include a plurality of contact sections to distribute the power to a corresponding plurality of contact means if desired or to define a plurality of electrical paths to a single corresponding contact means. The contact members of one of the connectors can be blade-shaped, while the contact members of the other comprise arrays of spring arms matable with the blade-shaped contact members under substantial contact normal force necessary for power transmission. Examples of such contact sections are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,976 and in U.S. Pat. Application Ser. No. 07/511,662 filed Apr. 20, 1990. A housing or other dielectric covering can be placed around the termination as desired.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,915,650 and 4,921,442 there are disclosed a housing for a single flat power cable termination wherein the terminal-terminated end of the dual (or single) conductor flat power cable is inserted into the rearward end of adjacent wide, low profile housing cavities (or single cavity) for contact sections of the terminals (or terminal) to extend forwardly from or be exposed along the housing mating face. A rearward cover member is then securable to the rearward end of the housing such as by latching thereto, to secure the terminals within the cavities (or terminal within the cavity) and define a cable exit spaced rearwardly of the terminations of the terminals or terminal. The rearward cover member has two opposed struts joined at one lateral end to be inserted over the flat cable from one side, after which the rearward cover member is latched to the rearward housing end in a manner clamping the opposed struts together at the other lateral end and against the cable exiting the connector therebetween. The rearward cover member includes opposed arcuate recesses along forward inner surfaces of the upper and lower struts defining rearward stop surfaces cooperable with arcuate rearward bight sections of the terminals laterally adjacent the cable edges to maintain the terminals properly positioned axially within the housing, maintaining the contact sections in position axially to enhance wear resistance of the contact surfaces by minimizing axial movement thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,456 discloses a variation of a generally conventional integral alignment system of matable electrical connectors, wherein the connectors are to be mated remote from the ability of a person to manipulate the connectors into an aligned angular orientation; one of the connectors may be fixedly mounted such as to a rack at the rear of a drawer-receiving slot, and the other is float mounted to the back panel of a drawer insertable into the drawer-receiving slot of the rack. In response to the initial bearing engagement of frustoconical leading ends of the pair of semicylindrical alignment posts with corresponding bearing surfaces of post-receiving apertures of the other connector, the float mounted connector is urged incrementally laterally and angularly into a precisely aligned orientation with the fixedly mounted connector, only after which do the contact terminals within the connectors engage and become electrically connected. Additional bearing surfaces of the connectors engage after the blade-shaped contacts to be mated coextend along each other, to cam the float mounted connector and its contacts in a selected direction laterally to urge the contacts into spring loaded engagement with the mating contacts for assured electrical engagement. A particular variation of a float mounting system is also disclosed, wherein a pair of shoulder screws extend through larger diameter mounting holes of the float mounted connector, permitting incremental movement sufficient to attain precision alignment during initial stages of connector mating, while elastomeric means urge the connector to a known position when unmated.
It would be desirable to provide a connector for one or more flat power cable terminations which is matable with another connector in a manner providing integral means for attaining accurate axial and angular alignment of the connectors prior to engagement of any portions of the contact members eventually to be mated together upon full connector mating.
It would be additionally desired to provide such mating connectors with integral means for assuring the axial and angular alignment of the thin, wide contact terminals after the respective housings have become aligned and the connectors have been moved farther together.
It would also be desirable for such connectors to provide integral means for stabilizing the positions of the terminals within the housings to resist movement when subjected to stresses and moments during mating and to stabilize the terminal positions and protect the integrity of the terminations to the flat power cables from stresses and torques transmitted to the connector by the flat cables at right angles therewith while permitting the contact terminals to become assuredly aligned during mating and remain aligned thereafter.
It would be further desirable to provide such connectors with an integral polarizing means to assure appropriate angular orientation prior to contact terminal engagement and full connector mating while assuredly preventing such terminal engagement and mating of the connectors when the connectors are not oriented at an appropriate angle.